Narc title sequence analysis

The font for the titles is slightly messy which gives a grimy/dirty feel to the beginning of the film. The black and white in the titles are very contrasting, the white could suggest purity and the black could suggest dirty which could imply a large amount about the film on a whole.
The fast pace editing and movement gives the clear idea that the film is a thriller and action genre. Also the fast pace of the beginning would alert the audience into focusing on what is happening.

The use of intense heavy breathing within the opening would mean that the audience are matching their breathing with the characters which causes them to feel an attachment to the characters of the film. The darkish blue saturation coluring of the sequence gives a very grimy feel as well, the playground contrasts with this as it is quite colourful compaired to the rest of the scenery, which adds to the feeling of innocence. The fact that the playground is a place of innoncence creates a juxta postion with the actions that take place.

American beauty title sequence

The title sequence begins with an establishing shot of a suburban area, to possibly where the film will be set. The name of the film then come comes up on a plain black screen with deep red writing; the red writing could have the connotations of blood, passion and anger which could suggest a large amount about the film. Throughout the title sequence there is always a non-diagetic commentary of the same character which could suggest that he is the main protagonist of the film. The film begins in autumn which could possibly symbolise the autumn of the protagonists life? This leads on to winter which could be the winter of his life- suggesting death?
The background music with the non-diagetic commentary could be contrapuntal sound- the whimsical music contrasts with the protagonist speaking about death.
The slow paced editing of the title sequence gives the idea that the main protagonist is bored of his life and feels emotionally and physically drained. The idea of boredom within the protagonists life is also backed-up by the decreased colour and dullness of his bedroom, also the fact that his slippers are at the side of the bed ready for him suggests the same routine and precision.

We felt the use of contrapuntal sound within this title sequence worked and so decided that perhaps we could use the same idea within our own title sequence. This can be seen with dull slow imagery whilst the young girl is being chased, but the happy music box sound suggests the complete opposite.

Memento title sequence analysis

The opening title sequence of Memento :

• Distributors – New Market and Summit Entertainment
• Production company – Team Todd
• Film Supervisors
• Name of Film - Memento
• Names of stars and actors
• Casting Directors
• Music Supervisor
• Costume Designer
• Editor
• Production Designer
• Director of Photography
• Co-Producer
• Co-Executive Producers
• Producers
• Screenplay Supervisor
• Based on the story by…
• Director

There is a camera close up on a mans face, this could show that he is the main protagonist of Memento.

The font within the title sequence is always in capitals which has quite a dramatic effect on the title sequence and is placed in the centre of the screen which makes the audience focus, this is also backed up by the large writing.

The writing also contrasts with the background of the screen, the colour gives a very pure but sad feel.

When the suspected protagonist is shaking the picture it could be seen that he is trying to get rid of the memory.

There is the diagetic sound of the gun.

When the titles are showing, the orchestral sound links with the font and pace of the font. This gives a very emotive and undenerving feel. The minor key of the music makes the title sequence seem increasing depressing.

The low angle used could suggest dominance of one charater over another.

The lighting then shows half of a face in light and half in dark, this could show a split personality of the protagonist.

Camerawork

Camera Distance:Close up- A shot taken very close to the subject, often a person's head or other significant object, which fills the screen.
Establishing shot- Usually a long shot that establishes the spatial relations between figures, objects and the setting of the film or scene.
Extreme close up- A shot in which the scale of the object is even larger, as when a small object, detail or  body part (face, eyes, etc.) fills the screen.
Extreme long shot- The subject is extremely small in relation to the size of the screen; frequently an interior establishing shot.
Long shot- A shot in which the object shown is small in relation to the size of the screen; frequently an interior establishing shot.
Medium close up- A shot framing the human figure from the chest up.
Medium long shot- A shot framing the human figure from the knees up.
Medium shot- A shot framing the human figure from the waist up.


Camera Movement:
Paranoma shot- The camera rotates from a fixed position along a horizontal plane.
Swish pan- The camera moves very rapidly along the horizontal plane so that the action appears blurred.
Tilt- The camera tilts up or vertically.
Tracking shot- The camea travels in any direction. The camera can be mounted on a truck or dolly to permit high speed movement.

Editing

Axis match: This is when the angle of the camera is in relation to the object on the screen, this remains the same from shot to shot.
Cross-cut: This is when two different shots of different action and places are put together simultaneously, they are usually related.
Direction match: The direction of a person or object that is the same throughout cuts.
Dissolve: This is when one shot gradually disappears and the next shot gradually appears.
Duration and pacing: The rhythm and duration of scenes and shots.
Eye line match: A cut of two characters within different shots that appear to be looking at one another due to the direction of the way they are looking.
Fade in: The gradual lighting of an image from dark (black) to light.
Fade out: The gradual darkening of an image.
Graphic match: Juxtaposition of graphically similar images.
Iris in: When an image is gradually shown from blackness through an expanding circle.
Iris out: This is the reverse of the iris in.
Jump cut: A break or jump in time, caused by removing a section of a shot and then splicing together what remains of it; on-screen the result is often jerky.
Movement match: Action that starts in one shot and continues onto the next shot.
Parallel cut: Editing that alternates shots of two or more areas of action occurring in two different places, usually simultaneously, that often run together later in the narrative.
Straight cut: Two shots that are joined together with no obvious continuity.
Wipe: One image is gardually replaced by another at a boundary that moves across the frame. This boundry is often a straight line, which moves vertically across the screen (but may also take other directions and shapes.

AS thriller title sequence order and structured

Order of things appearing in our sequence:

• Footage
• Music
• Credits

A general rule of credit conventions:

• Production companies and backers
• Director
• Producer
• Executive producer
• Top billed actors
• Movie title
• Other cast members

We then moved on to analyse a few title sequences- there order and how they are structured.


Lord of war-

• Footage
• Music
• Credits (Top bill characters and title come first, and then other cast members names)

History of violence-

• Footage (starts slow paced- an introduction in characters with a conversation)
• Titles appear over footages- slow fade in and out

Heat-

• Credits on a blank screen- the main titles.
• Warner brothers then appears on screen
• The titles appear to be fading

Moodboard

Within pictures such as 'lovely bones', 'secret in their eyes' and 'panic room' there has been a use of  silhouette. We decided that by looking at the use of silhouette we would be able to decide whether or not it would work best for our title sequence. Silhouetting is used to create a sense of eeriness and mystery.

For font, we looked at the writing used for 'The Orphan' which looks like very scratched naturalistic writing, the fact that it is such a scratched font gives an almost grusome feel.
Within the film 'Schindlers list' there is only one piece of colour within the whole of the film- the little girl with the red coat. The fact that it is on a young girl suggests that the colour could be a connotation of innonce, towards the end the coat is on a pile of dead bodies which suggests that there is no longer any innocence. We decided to use this aspect within our title sequence, by having one colour in bold means that the audience have a particular thing to concentrate on.
Also the use of mirroring is something that is used throughout many thrillers; 'dream house' and 'primal doubt' both use a type of mirroring. By doing this it creates a large amount of suspense as the audience try to figure out what the reflection is of.

Initial Idea's for our thriller title sequence

When starting our thriller sequence, it was important to first consider the different codes and conventions that can be found within the genre of a thriller.
These codes and conventions can include a range of different things including:

• Low key lighting
• Shadows
• Music
• Obstructive editing
• quick cuts
• Flashbacks
• Black and white

Low key lighting-
Lighting used within a thriller is important as it can establish the mood of the scene and by having a contrast between dark light areas this creates deep shadowing for the shot.
Shadows-
Shadows are very similar to low key lighting in that they can effect the mood of the scene. However they can be used to show the possible darkness of a certain character, but also to add a sense of tension and eeriness.
Music-
Different music can do have different effects on films. Music within a thriller is supposed to create suspense and tension, this can be done by the pace of the music as a quicker pace would have a build up on the scene which would have a build up for the audience. This can also be created by orchestral music.
Obstructive editing-
This type of editing is used within thrillers frequently to accentuate the feelings of suspense and tension, particularly used within an extremely important scene of the film.
Quick cuts-
As these are particularly fast paced cuts this means that the reaction of the audience will also be very quick as they begin to relate to the emotional side of the film or of the character.
Flashbacks-
A flashback within a thriller usually gives a sense of disorientation which then means that the audience become puzzled by the events taking place.
Black and White- 
Black and white is also like low key lighting and shadowing in that it is used to create and eeriness.


After we had begun to consider these codes and conventions we then moved on to start considering the basis of our thriller title sequence. We first decided that as it was a thriller it would have to include suspense and mystery, but also a certain amount of action- so we decided it would be based on a series of killings. To make the audience feel a certain amount of emotion towards the title sequence, we thought that by having young children being murdered this would result in the audience creating a connection to the character of a young girl in the title sequence.
This would also create 'peaks and troffs' for the audience as they would be hoping for the young girl not to get killed, so any chance it seemed she had escaped there would be a 'peak' for the audience, but if it appeared that the killer was on her trail this would create a 'troff'.
We also decided that the location should be set in the woods as this can be an extremely isolated and natural location, so it would appear the girl and the killer were alone.


These were our initail ideas for our title sequence, over the weeks they began to develop.